The First Roku TVs Arrive in September—and They’re Cheap

Until now, Roku has only offered streaming video through its own hardware, either a set-top box or a dongle. Next month, Roku—which has grown into a household name—becomes the operating system for TVs from TCL and Hisense, two big TV makers that are largely unknown in this country.

TCL and Hisense are, so far, the first and only TV makers to ship Roku televisions—which include video apps such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBO Go, and music apps such as Pandora and Spotify, along with many other niche “channels.” TCL and Hisense, the world’s third largest and fourth largest TV manufacturers, respectively, are hoping to use Roku as a calling card for the U.S. market, where they have less traction than they do in Europe and Asia.

Price will also be a key part of getting American TV buyers’ attention: TCL will offer 32-inch Roku TV for $230, a 40-incher for $330, a 48-incher for $500 and a 55-inch set for $650. Amazon is taking pre-orders starting today, and they’ll arrive in retail stores “in the coming weeks,” TCL said in a statement.

Hisense’s Roku TVs will arrive in late September and be available in four sizes: 40-inches, 48-inches, 50-inches and 55-inches. Though Hisense’s pricing has yet to be announced, the company told us that it would be aggressive. Both TCL and Hisense’s TVs will feature 1080p resolution displays, and the larger models will feature 120Hz refresh rates.

While building the user-friendly Roku interface into a TV set makes as least as much sense as any “smart” TV currently on the market, we’re reserving judgment until we can test them out. After all, as anyone who’s shopped for a TV recently knows, specs don’t tell the whole story, and with prices that low, there are bound to be some compromises.